We will solve no problem before its time!
How many of you remember the Orson Welles commercial years ago for some brand of wine? Can’t you still hear his basso profundo delivering that slogan with pious conviction? “We will sell no wine before its time.”
It’s a fun memory but, sorry, the post is neither about wine nor Orson Welles. It is about problems and time, though. A few thoughts about why a problem should not be attempted to be solved before its time, and then six ways (because the expected five just won’t do it with this one) you can know when it might be ripe for solution.
Notice first the possessive rather than the contraction. “Its”, not “it’s”. Most of us are tempted to try to solve a problem whenever we see it. (That is, at least when we’re not tempted to deny it, avoid it, and never let on that it ever could have existed or should be addressed.) “It’s” time to solve it when you see it, isn’t it? Well, no. That’s more about my compulsions and ‘to do’ lists and beliefs about being proactive and maybe even not wanting anyone else to notice that a problem ever existed.
Sure, sometimes a problem is ready to be solved – and needs to be – when it is first noticed. If the dike is leaking, it needs a finger in it right now. But problems do have conditions of ripeness or readiness for solution. Those don’t all fit a model of ASAP.
Look for some of the following to time the best problem-solving:
1. Prevention – Certainly, if it’s not a problem yet and you can act to prevent it, now is definitely the time to act. We definitely don’t see them all coming, but there are more times than perhaps we would like to admit as leaders that we did see the conditions for trouble and chose to be busy with something else for a while longer – just long enough for a fully grown problem to emerge.
2. Information – Now is the time for patience to kick in. But not reticence. If you know enough of the relevant information you reasonably predict you’ll ever know, then information is not what should stop you from acting. You could always know more, but there’s much in the way of information which you know won’t make a real difference in solving the problem. Then, don’t be guilty of validating clichés by living the paralysis of analysis. But, if you’re still mostly ignorant about the problem, take time to get the information that counts.
I know there’s the Gladwell Blink stuff to consider, but that’s more broadly about decision-making, and very appropriate for a leader’s perspective. Some very good decisions can be made very quickly (and some decision-making calls for speed if the decision is going to be worth anything at all) and sometimes can’t really be explained through a decision-tree, but are still just the right decision. I think problems, especially involving other people, are usually a little bit different animal. Rarely are others ripe for your problem-solving involvement based on your blink. Of course, if you’re Bezos or Jobs and the like, you get a bye on this after the first several $billion.
3. Priority – As a leader, you’re always having to set priorities and choose what to act on and when to do it. Sometimes opportunity calls for your attention before problems. Knowing which calls when is clearly a defining discernment mark of good leadership. Will the problem blow-up? Get on it. Will the opportunity be lost? Get on it. Is it just not clear, then discern and decide. And recognize your own tendency – whether you lean toward problem-solving or seizing opportunity. It won’t tell you the answer every time, but knowing yourself will clear away a few of the cobwebs which rob you of your most effective leadership vision.
4. Those in the middle of the problem – The status, awareness and attitude of those wrapped up in the middle of the problem are crucial to deciding whether the problem is ripe for solution. Are they working on it, with some effectiveness? Then, by all means, let them continue. An ‘indispensable’ leader who solves all the problems is anything but a leader.
Are they aware of the problem? Sometimes you have to tell them, but that’s a last resort. How well do you like it when you are told you have a problem and told what your solution is going to be? How much more ready are you for your leader’s engagement and involvement when you know things are going wrong? And if the leader’s approach is not “gotcha” but genuine caring and commitment to invest, it makes the solution process so much more productive while mostly dismissing the defensive maneuvers which kill so many improvement efforts.
What attitude do those in the middle of the problem seem to have? Are they willing to dump the problem in your lap as the leader, or do they continue to own it, but willingly receive your involvement? Sometimes, of course, you don’t know until you make your move toward the problem, but often you can see the clues about how your awareness and involvement will be received.
You’re leading, so you don’t have to have an invitation to involve yourself. But, people will be people and problems bring their own context. Solutions which avoid future problems and breed more solutions come from people who feel invested and capable and trusted, even when they’ve shown once again that they’re people and they’re not perfect – just like their leader.
5. Your attitude – How ready are you to do the stuff mentioned in item 4 above? Leadership tends to attract folks who don’t always do these things naturally. That is, pursue the task and solve the problems but always by building the capacity, confidence, and camaraderie of the team. Those are real world possibilities even if they seem rather idealized. A gun squad in battle is facing life or death problems and often conditions which tear at the body and soul, but that team can be led in a way that grows them through the crisis, even if that life or death challenge means that someone doesn’t survive. If leadership through crisis can grow people under those conditions, we can certainly lead in our businesses and our schools in ways that build up rather than tear down people while solving some pretty bodacious problems.
6. Solution in sight – This one may seem like dreamland, but I think it’s realistic like the others. Sometimes, as a leader, you just have to meet the challenge with courage, wading into the muck without having any idea where the solution is going to come from or where it’s going to take you. But often, really and truly, you can get anywhere from a glimpse to a fairly clear sight path for the solution before you engage the issue. If you’re there, then that’s a problem ripe for solution. If you avoid or stay passive or just choose not to be bothered, you miss low hanging fruit for team growth and leadership development. And if the problem matters much at all, you leave your flank exposed for erosion and degradation of capacity for your entire enterprise.
Obvious stuff most of it, but not the stuff we do with problems many times as we lead. This isn’t just sales babble sap or interview interlocutions – this is a real example of a problem being an opportunity.
DR. BOYD CHITWOOD IS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF MINGO VALLEY CHRISTIAN IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MINGO VALLEY, CLICK HERE.